The blessings of attending the temple are set forth in Section 109 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Those who attend the temple worthily and participate in the ordinances there have the following blessings promised to them:

1) They will feel the power of the Lord (verse 13)

2) They will be taught words of wisdom out of the best books (verse 14)

3) They will learn by study and also by faith (verse 14)

4) They will grow up unto the Lord (verse 15)

5) They will receive a fullness of the Holy Ghost (verse 15)

6) They will be prepared to receive every needful thing (verse 15)

7) Blessings will be poured out upon them (verse 21)

8) The glory of the Lord shall be round about them (verse 22)

9) Angels shall have charge over them (verse 22)

10) No weapon formed against them shall prosper (verse 25)

11) He who digs a pit for them shall fall in the same pit himself (verse 25)

Elijah was the last prophet to hold the sealing power of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the power to bind in heaven ordinances performed on earth, before the time of Jesus Christ. Elijah came to the Mount of Transfiguration to confer the sealing power upon Peter, James, and John. In order to do so, he needed his physical body, since spirits cannot lay hands on mortal beings (See Doctrine and Covenants 129:8).

It’s interesting to note that Elijah also came to earth to confer this same sealing power to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on April 3, 1836 (See Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16). At this time, however, he came as a resurrected being, since he was with Christ in his resurrection (See Doctrine and Covenants 133:55).

This weekend, our ward had a Father and Son’s Camp out. I drove myself and my three sons over 90 miles to our destination on a Friday afternoon. I had tried to get out of work early, but it didn’t work out that way and by the time we left my house it was already 6pm.

I was worried that there wouldn’t be any light left to set my tent up but didn’t worry too much, having faith that things would work out. It was dark and overcast at my house when we left and by the time we reach our destination, there was literally a column of sunlight gleaming down from between the clouds. Just as I had trusted would happen. It had shed enough light to set up the tent without difficulty.

There was already a group playing kickball, but I decided to just sit by my tent and relax while my three sons would squeal and cry over the red kick ball that I had brought. Besides, if I had played kickball it would have been completely unfair to the opposite team!

The fireside seemed to be exactly what I needed. It was, of course, about the Priesthood and service. There was a great lesson presented. In a nutshell, those successful people around us that were known to give generously had done so before the fact that there were successful.

They were also great leaders, but not for the reasons why you would think. They were kind and generous, which in turn had people gravitate towards them. Their genuine willingness to help and give their time, money and talents had brought them blessings of true happiness. True happiness is being in the service of your fellow men. The Priesthood brings happiness by its sole purpose of serving others.

This has had me pondering the whole weekend about the things I can do to help those around me.

My FamilyI can be a more loving husband and patient father.

My FriendsI can be more bold in bringing up the gospel in day to day situations.

My Ward FamilyI can get over my habit to float to the side and stay unnoticed and make a better effort. I can find ways to serve them. I can try to take my callings to the next level.

The Blessings from service are evident as I had arranged to go visit a family today with my home teaching companion. I had received good news upon my visit that the father had received a great job offer, ending a period of worry. I was uplifted to hear about the blessings they had received through prayer, obedience and faith in Heavenly Fathers.

I am excited and filled with enthusiasm as this month, I am going to concentrate on service to my fellow men.

Let’s all face it. When we’re following the straight and narrow path, you are the most happy.

This is done by following the commandments, daily prayers throughout the day, following family home evening, putting effort into your callings, giving thanks and remembering Christ.

Heavenly Father knows our hearts and our needs and he listens to our prayers. When we are weathered from the world and feel that we are not 100% and yearn to be, he will bless us and give us a way.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (Matthew 21:21-22)

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (or just busy like me) you would have noticed that mormon.org was recently changed. I noticed this sometime in late September. The changes are welcomed as the website keeps its simple architecture and is well organized for potential investigators.

The navigation tabs on the top are evidently the most important parts of the website:

Basic Beliefs

Worship With Us

Ask A Question

I like that things are straight forward and to the point. Information is readily available for finding out what our Church really is about and cover:

The Restoration of Truth

Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness

Jesus Christ: Our Savior

The Commandments

Membership in Christ’s Church

And the ability to Chat Live with Missionaries.

This website is a strong missionary tool. However, it can be an even better tool if we use it in our daily lives. As members, we are constantly asked about our faith and our beliefs. Along with explaining what we believe and bearing our testimonies, referring people to mormon.org can reinforce what we teach.

Every Member a Missionary. It only takes a few moments to mention mormon.org to someone. Our brothers and sisters are waiting to hear our message about the restored gospel. It is my hope that we can all listen extra carefully to the promptings of the spirit and act on when it comes to sharing our truths.

If you are taking lessons from a missionary and decide to get baptized, there are certain things they want done before the actual baptism.

Today, there are four lessons before your baptism. Missionaries want to sure you understand what you are taking on by being baptized.

The four lessons are broken up by topic:

The Restoration

The Plan of Salvation

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

The Commandments

I will write about these four lessons at a future date.

You can decide to be baptized at any time during the four lessons. After committing to be baptized, the rest of the lessons (if any) will be taught before it is done. There is also a baptismal interview that is done before hand. This is done by a missionary district leader.

The following questions asked are:

Do you believe that God is our Eternal Father?

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world?

Do you believe that the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ have been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith?

Do you believe that [the current Church President – which is Gordon B. Hinkley at this time)] is a prophet of God? What does this mean to you?

What does it mean to you to repent? Do you feel that you have repented of your past transgressions?

Have you ever participated in an abortion? A homosexual relationship? Have you ever committed a serious crime? If so, are you now on probation or parole? *

You have been taught that membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints includes living gospel standards. What do you understand of the following standard. What do you understand of the following standards? Are you willing to obey them?

Are you willing to keep the Sabbath day holy, including partaking of the sacrament weekly and rendering service to fellow members?

What do you understand of the law of chastity, which prohibits any sexual relationship outside the bonds of a legal marriage between a man and a woman? Are you willing to obey this law?

What do you understand of the Word of Wisdom? Are you willing to obey this law?

What do you understand of the law of tithing? Are you willing to obey this law?

When you are baptized, you covenant with God that you are willing to take upon yourself the name of Christ and keep His commandments throughout your life. Are you ready to make this covenant and strive to be faithful to it?

* – If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you will be sent to the mission president for a follow up interview.

These questions were taken from my own experiences and cross-referenced with Preach My Gospel Chapters 3 and 12. (Thanks Joey)

My wife went shopping Saturday night and mentioned to me that she ran into one of our former missionaries. (He was assigned to a neighboring ward after teaching us our second lesson.) He was accompanied by the Mission Leader of his ward and the missionary’s companion. She walked up to him as he was saying “hi” to another family. He immediately started to point out about five or six families left and right that were also LDS.

I find humor in this, but also peace and wonder. Peace for knowing that, if needed, we would “bear each other’s burdens.” (Mosiah 18:8) And wonder – seeing how many people are members in our church and how fast it is growing.

This, obviously, is the sign of a true church by the fruit it is bears.

"As Latter-day Saints, we have become accustomed to thinking of 'Church' as something that happens in our meetinghouses, supported by what happens at home. We need an adjustment to this pattern." @NelsonRussellM #generalconference #ldsconf